1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer security, and more particularly but not exclusively to methods and apparatus for restoring computer files.
2. Description of the Background Art
Computer files may be damaged for a variety of reasons including by computer virus infection, improper closing, and access error, to name some examples. Files may be backed up as a precautionary measure; a damaged file may be restored using its backup copy, if one is available. Some backup and restore solutions involve using a real time hook to detect when a file is being modified, and to backup the file before modification. Other back up and restore solutions involve making backups of files on a periodic basis. One deficiency of these solutions is that they consume a lot of system resources, such as processor time and disk space. Backing up hundreds and thousands of files, as in an enterprise environment, requires a lot of I/O (input/output) processing and may flood the computer network in the event the backup storage space is not local. This scenario is particularly troublesome during massive virus infections, which may trigger large amounts of clean files to be backed up as a precautionary measure. Another deficiency of these backup and restore solutions is that they do not provide information that may be used in understanding the virus infection.